Life, adventure and faith from southwest Virginia

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I’d love to know your comments about this video… Since our church has thousands of kids (it feels like that when we’re all together), it’s a wonderful reminder and encouragement to continue being strategic in family ministry and discipleship.

we started hearing stats such as this back when i was in the thick of youth ministry, but of course since we all believed that youth ministry was the highest calling :-), we didnt believe any of it. as it turns out, facts is facts, and teenagers have a far smaller rate of conversion than do children, and teenagers are far more difficult to reach and are far less likely to continue on with their commitment to Christ than are children. not to say its pointless to try and reach teens and young adults, but to have the most meaningful… Read more »

I am not sure that the causality is correct… While it is true that most people who come to Christ do so while they are youngsters, I suspect that it is also true that most of these youngsters are also decipled by their own parents. The bible commissions parents to teach their children the word of God. It doesn’t give anyone else this responsibility. While I don’t think that there is anything wrong with Children’s ministry, I don’t think we should put all of our eggs in that basket — Especially if we are failing to fill our commission as… Read more »

Josh, I agree with you on the causality issue. Our church seeks to disciple parents and train them to be the spiritual leaders of their own home. I like what this video is trying to say, but not necessarily the implications of it. It seems rather manipulative to seek to reach impressionable children without reaching their parents first. Not that any church should stop ministering to children, but that we should not accept these statistics as the norm. Rather, the church should see these numbers as our failure to joyfully embrace all peoples with the Gospel of Christ. All this… Read more »

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Notes from the TrailThe Personal Blog of Jeff NobleInfo: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.

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